Apollo
Apollo is the Greek god of the sun, light, healing, music, poetry, archery, reason and prophecy. He is the twin brother of the goddess Artemis. He is depicted as the god who drives the sun around in his chariot, a job he received when the original sun god, Helios, faded due to him being downsized by the Romans. He and his sister, Artemis, are known as the Twin Archers. Apollo is portrayed by Dimitri Lekkos. History Birth and Fight with Python When Leto was pregnant, Hera was furious with Zeus' unfaithfulness and forbade the Titan from giving birth on either the islands or mainlands. Fortunately, the floating isle of Delos gave sanctuary to Leto, and through the help of all the goddesses, who begged Hera to allow Eilethyia, the goddess of childbirth, to come to Leto, she finally gave birth to the goddess Artemis and, nine days later, Apollo. A four day-old Apollo petitioned Hephaestus for a golden bow and a set of arrows which he used to kill Python, a dragon that was previously sent by Hera to chase his mother, Leto. After his defeat of Python, Apollo established the Oracle of Delphi as recompense, for Python was the child of Gaea, and Gaea complained to Zeus about Apollo's act. He also established the Pythian games and named his Oracle the Pythia, to honor his great foe. Losing his Cattle When Hermes was born, he stole Apollo's sacred cattle. Outraged, Apollo demanded something to be done to him as punishment. Instead, to make up for it, Hermes made a lyre, a musical instrument, and gave it to Apollo as a peace offering. After that, Hermes and Apollo became the closest of friends, so much so that Apollo said to him that he was the most beloved of the gods to him, and Hermes became an Olympian. Soon after, Hermes crafted the reed pipes. Apollo begged for them, so Hermes made a deal with him: he would give him the reed pipes in exchange for the caduceus. Apollo agreed, and then became the god of music. First Olympic Games Apollo was believed to have won the first Olympic games, established to honor Zeus' victory over Kronos and was originally a game for the gods, and is recorded as defeating Ares at boxing and Hermes at racing. So the Ancient Greeks gave laurel branches as rewards to victors in honor of this, as the laurel was the holy tree of Apollo. Asclepius Apollo is also the god who found Chiron and raised him, attributing Chiron's skills and wisdom to Apollo's tutelage. Thus, after Asclepius, the demigod son of Apollo was born, and was raised by Chiron. The centaur taught the demigod in medicine and would drive him to become the greatest of healers. Asclepius is said to have been Apollo's favorite demigod child. Asclepius became even more skilled in medicine than his father Apollo, most likely because he devoted all of his time to it. With the help of Gorgon Blood (given to him by Athena), Asclepius could cure any illness, heal any injury, and even bring back the dead. Furious, Hades forced Zeus to strike Asclepius dead with his thunderbolt for his transgression against the natural laws. Apollo was angered and devastated by his son's death, and he killed one of the Cyclopes (who forged Zeus's thunderbolts) in retaliation. To prevent a feud, Asclepius was resurrected and made into a god, but was forbidden from ever resurrecting the dead ever again. For his murder of the Cyclopes, Apollo was ordered by Zeus to live on earth for a year and banned him from using his godly powers, and forced to serve the mortal King Admetus of Thessaly as a shepherd for a year. Fortunately for Apollo, Admetus was very hospitable, and treated the banished god with great respect. As a reward for his hospitality, Apollo even persuaded the Fates to reprieve Admetus of his fated day of death, as long as Admetus could find someone willing to die in his place. Punishing Niobe When Niobe insulted his mother Leto, saying her children were more numerous, and better overall, Apollo shot arrows at all of Niobe's sons, while Artemis shot arrows at all of Niobe's daughters. Olympian Riot, and Apollo's Punishment Hera, enraged at her husband's infidelity, decided to start the first (and last) Olympian riot against Zeus. Hera managed to gain the support of Poseidon, as well as Apollo himself, and Athena. That evening, Apollo, Poseidon, and Athena hid themselves in the hall adjacent to Zeus' royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly tightly bound the King of Olympus with unbreakable and tightening golden chains. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus looked very intimidating. Finally, Poseidon attempted to reason with his brother, and demanded that Zeus be a better ruler. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agrees. Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task. Fortunately, the violently trashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the Nereid Thetis. After convincing Zeus to be merciful towards the rioting Olympians, Thetis managed to find the Hekatonkheire, Briares, by the sea shore. He was more than happy to save Zeus, recalling that he owes his own freedom from Tartarus and Kampê to him. Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting. Zeus remained true to his word, and was merciful towards the rioters, but he still punished them all accordingly. Apollo was once again ordered to live on earth without using his godly powers, and forced to serve Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy. Laomedon ordered Apollo to become his shepherd, and tend to his royal herds. Trojan War During the Trojan War, Apollo was the chief patron and protector of the Trojans and Hector in particular. Apollo shot arrows of horrible plague into the Greek encampment as retribution for Agamemnon's insult to his priest, whose daughter had been captured by them. He demanded her return and the Greeks complied, indirectly causing the anger of Achilles. Apollo also taunted Achilles so that he would chase him, giving the Trojans time to escape back to Troy. When Diomedes injured Aeneas during a battle, Apollo rescued him after Aphrodite was wounded by Diomedes as well, trying to save her son. He transported the Trojan to Pergamos where his wound was tended by his mother and sister. Throughout the war, he constantly drove on Hector and almost destroyed the Greeks. At the behest of Zeus, Apollo used Zeus' Aegis to force the Greeks back to their ships. He also destroyed the great wall the Greeks built, as easily as a child breaks a sandcastle, according to Homer. Apollo also aided Paris in slaying Achilles by guiding the arrow of his bow into his (Achilles') heel. Personality Apollo has been obsessed with haikus ever since he visited Japan and also appears to obsess over other kinds of poems, depending on where he visits. Although he considers himself a great poet, he is actually really terrible at it. In The Titan's Curse, Zoë Nightshade briefly mentions that after Apollo visited Ireland, he obsessed over limericks for a time. He loves his 'little' sister Artemis, even though they often clash, as he is the more laid back, less serious twin; he is always hitting on her Hunters as well. He is also shown to have good relations with his demigod relatives, such as Percy, illegally helping him during his quest, and offering to teach him archery. Apollo is described as arrogant, self-centered, and cocky. Apollo is also a major flirt, as he often flirts with Artemis' hunters, even though she has forbidden it. Despite his flirting however, the Hunters refuse to be charmed by Apollo, due to their oath. However, there is also a darker side to Apollo, and he is shown to be capable of cruelty, shown when he placed a terrible curse on his son Halcyon Green, just because the latter tried to go against fate. Apollo is also very protective of his mother Leto, shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when he killed all seven of Nioba's sons, after she insulted Leto. Appearance Percy Jackson's Greek Gods describes Apollo as an extremely handsome god, being as tall and muscular and bronzed as a Baywatch lifeguard, with long golden hair tied back in a man bun and eyes that shone like the sun. His radiance was enhanced by his wearing a Greek robe of gold, and a beautiful golden bow and a quiver of magical arrows over his shoulders. His handsomeness was such that even Hera, who had a deep natural hatred of Zeus' mistresses and illegitimate children, did not dare object to his claiming his place among the Olympian gods. The other novels also depict him as handsome and charming (when he chooses to be), though there are some inconsistencies with the description provided by Percy Jackson's Greek Gods. Apollo is often seen driving the Sun Chariot, and almost always has a laurel wreath on his head. The differences in Apollo' physical description throughout the novels could be attributed to the fact that, as a god, he has the ability to assume any shape he desired. Abilities Apollo is known to be Zeus's most powerful son, since Zeus trusted Apollo with more significant powers than any of his other children. Therefore, Apollo is an extremely powerful god, surpassed only by the Big Three * Fighting Powers: Apollo has great superhuman strength and fighting skills, as the Homeric hymns describe that no ropes can bind him. He also wrestled and nearly killed Hercules before Zeus threw his thunderbolt between the two when Hercules tried to steal his Oracle's tripod. Apollo also defeated Ares in boxing during the very first Olympic games, which were for the gods. * Archery: As the god of archery, he excels in archery as well as other target-shooting-based activities, such as basketball. According to''Percy Jackson's Greek Gods'', Apollo's arrows can invisibly strike a person, no matter how far away he is. His skills in archery are only rivaled by his sister Artemis and the giant Orion. * Swordsmanship: Apollo is also an expert swordsman, as Homer describes him as 'Apollo of the Golden Sword'. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, it is revealed that Apollo once had an extremely sharp sword made of adamantium and Imperial Gold, but rarely used it, and later gave it to his younger brother Hermes in exchange for the flute. * Musical Ability: As the god of music, he is an expert musician, and can play any musical instrument perfectly, though he is most often seen with his lyre. Apollo also has four golden celedons accompanying him in his musical performances, as well as being the leader of the Muses. * Photokinesis: As the god of light, he has absolute control and divine authority over light. * Pyrokinesis: As the god of the sun, he has absolute control over the flames of his Sun Chariot. * Supernatural Sight: As the god of light and the sun, he can see anything and anywhere during the day. * Vitakinesis: As the god of healing and medicine, he can manipulate and modify a person's anatomy, as well as restore the injured to near-instantaneous health (as seen in The Last Olympian when Apollo healed Annabeth). ** He can instantly heal almost any wounds at a quicker rate than even other Olympians. * Disease Manipulation: If angered, Apollo can cause several diseases, mainly plague. During the Trojan War, when Agamemnon offended him, Apollo infected the latter's army with plague. As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo uses special arrows for this, which explode and disseminate various horrible diseases. * Prophecy: As the god of prophecy and foresight, he is able to see into the future. However, he is unable to tell anyone future events, except through his Oracles, as then the information would become meaningless. This is a dangerous ability, and his only child known to have inherited it is Halcyon Green. Apollo does not have full control over this power either. He does not always know what the prophecies mean nor can he always control when they are told. * Truth: He is also the god of truth and was known to never tell a lie. ** However, in The Titan's Curse, he lied and said his name was Fred. * Flight: As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Apollo has the ability to fly, which was shown when he flew to the island of Delos to slay Python, and when he and Artemis descended on the city of Thebes to punish Queen Niobe for her hubris. 1 Attributes Apollo's attributes are his golden bow and arrow, his golden lyre, the laurel wreath, the sacrificial tripod (representing his prophetic powers), and the hyacinth flower (which sprouted out of the blood of Hyacinth, Apollo's friend and lover). Apollo's sacred animal is the swan. As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, the Caduceus, winged sandals and golden Sword of Hermes used to belong to Apollo. However, he, admittedly never used them, and readily gave them to his younger brother Hermes in exchange for the latter's lyre and flute. Family Apollo loves both his mother and twin sister, Artemis, above all other women and will fiercely defend them. Apollo is surpassed only by his fatherand uncle in his romances. Many of his demigod children have become famed poets, writers and musicians (e.g. William Shakespeare) Immortal Children Mortal Children Video Game Apollo's Chariot Apollo's sun chariot is the one that brings light to the world, making the mortals believe that it is a huge ball of fire-the sun-in outer space (although Apollo infers that the Sun does ''still exist in space, but its effects and visible appearance on Earth is the Sun Chariot). Apollo's sun chariot can also turn to any other car; as shown in ''The Titan's Curse, the chariot changed into a Maserati and a bus. Trivia * Apollo gave Midas donkey ears after he declared Pan the winner in a music contest between the two gods. * Artemis calls him big-headed and many other names siblings often call one another. In fact, when Nico pointed out that the sun was just a big fiery ball of gas, Apollo said that Artemis had called him a big fiery ball of gas once, which led humans to believe that was indeed what the sun was. * Apollo's epithet of "Phoebus Apollo" is mentioned in Percy Jackson's Greek's Gods as being a reference to his Titan grandmother Phoebe, from who he inherited his prophetic powers and the Oracle of Delphi. * He slayed Marsyas, a mortal musician because he dared to challenge the god of music, but it was Apollo who won. * He likes to make Haikus (Japanese poems) which probably mirrors the fact that Japan is referred as the 'Land of the rising sun' and Apollo is the sun god. * Apollo is the only Olympian to share his name with his Roman aspect because "Perfection can't be improved." * Apollo was equated with the Egyptian god Horus during the Hellenistic era, which was after Alexander's conquest of Egypt. * Apollo is the only male Olympian that is described as having blond hair, the female one being his aunt Demeter. * Apollo's incognito name 'Fred' may have been taken from the author of The Face of Apollo, by Fred Saberhagen. * Apollo told Thalia that "I hate it when pretty girls turn in to trees." This is a reference Apollo's first love, Daphne. She was a nymph who became a laurel tree to escape him. * Apollo is the one who informs Thalia of her age, which was previously unknown because of her transformation into a pine tree. * NASA's spaceflight program that landed the first human on the moon was called the "Apollo Program." * As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Poseidon and Apollo are the only two major Olympians who have temporarily been forced to live on earth without their divinity and godly powers. Apollo is the only one to whom this has happened twice. * Ironically, not only are Apollo's haikus terrible despite being the god of poetry, but he also lies about being the elder twin (Artemis was born nine days before him) despite also being the god of truth. The latter may simply be him messing with his sister for fun (due to her favored form being a 12 year old and his favored form being a teenager).